The Jews in the Band

This chapter focuses on the “Anders Army,” which was founded by General Władysław Anders after he was freed from the Lubyanka prison by the Stalinist government. It recounts the Anders administration's special invitations that were issued to touring Polish show troupes that were made up primarily of acculturated Jews in order to form two embedded theatrical revue units. It also speculates on the motives of why the Anders administration decided to spend precious resources on particular Jewish recruits. The chapter draws on the memoirs of performers and soldiers and the articles, reviews, and editorials published in the Polish-language wartime newspapers that was subsidized by the British army. It describes the Jewish recruits that represented the greatest performers of modern Polish popular music and comedy, such as Henryk Wars, Jerzy Petersburski, Henryk Gold, and Alfred Longin Schüt.